Archive By Author - Veronica Coons

Winter break has arrived, and this year, students at Great Bend High School Kayettes kicked it off in grand style with the annual Holly Ball affair. This year's theme, "Elegance under the sea," transformed the high school gym into a magical coral reef, complete with giant clams, glittery seaweed and a sunken ship.

At the December school board meeting Monday evening, USD 428 Director of Curriculum John Popp presented the 2013 Kansas Communities that Care survey results. They provide a picture of how students in the district feel the community and schools are doing in addressing serious issues like drug and alcohol use and abuse and bullying in schools. Board members learned students in the district had more struggles with the prevalence of drugs and alcohol than the state average, but that some of the measures undertaken by the district to combat bullying were having a positive results.

Tuesday, the Kansas Association of School Boards pulled out of the Smarter Balanced testing consortium, deciding instead to continue having the University of Kansas' Center for Educational Testing and Evaluation produce state assessment tests as it has for over 30 years.

This week in 1903, while the people of Great Bend....., half way across the country, in Kittyhawk, N.J., Orville and Wilbur Wright completed their first flight at 10:35 in the morning on the 17th. While they weren't the first to make it into the air--several glider pilots before them succeeded--they were the first to sustain and control their flight.

"It's so nice just to go hear live music," said Vern Fryberger, director of the Barton County Hilltop Singers. "This is kind of fun because it's mostly big band music but there's also some 50s and 60s and other more modern pieces."

TOPEKA - Noted local artist, Louise Brock Hamilton, passed away on Dec. 5. She was born in Great Bend on April 25, 1932, to George and Ella Jane Heim of Ellinwood. Louise completed her early education in the Ellinwood schools. She majored in drawing and painting in the School of Fine Arts at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, where she was a member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority. She continued her education at the University of Colorado, Boulder, Colo., and Washburn University, Topeka.

A year ago, on the morning of Dec. 14, the news of the tragic school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn., shocked and saddened people all over the country, as well as the world. Twenty children and six educators were killed when a gunman entered the secure school, walked into a classroom and began shooting.

A year ago, on the morning of Dec. 14, the news of the tragic school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn., shocked and saddened people all over the country, as well as the world. Twenty children and six educators were killed when a gunman entered the secure school, walked into a classroom and began shooting.

Editor's note: The Kansas State Department of Education earlier this month released it's 2013 School Report Card. At first glance, it appears Kansas kids are scoring poorly compared to even a year or two ago. But with schools all over the country rolling out of the new Common Core and College and Career Readiness standards, the rules of the game have changed. The tests haven't however, and that skews the data scores are supposed to provide.

Monday, Dr. Max Heim and Gary Secrest from the Kansas State Board of Education arrived in Great Bend to meet with patrons, faculty and staff, administration and USD 428 board members to discuss the newly begun search for a superintendent.

Articles By Author - Veronica Coons

Attending their second comptetion of the year, students at Euphoria Dance Center earned several first overall in category awards in all three divisions of the Starpower International Dance Competition held March 13-15 at Century II, Mary Jane Teall Theater in Wichita.

Uncomfortable silence fell over the USD 428 school board meeting Thursday at a noon meeting at Eisenhower Elementary School. With two choices on the table for next year's school calendar, two opposing motions died for lack of a second in a battle of wills over to days leading up to Christmas.

This week in 1955, US Customs seized copies of Allen Ginsberg's poem "Howl" as obscene. A year later, it was judged to be not obscene. The song, "Ballad of Davy Crockett" became the top record in the US, and "On the Waterfront," starring Marlon Brando and Grace Kelly won at the 27th Academy Awards.

Arriving at Heartland Farm early Wednesday morning, volunteers were greeted by Lenny and Lilly, the pair of part Brittany, part blue heeler dogs that guard the Dominican Sisters of Peace homestead a few miles north of Pawnee Rock. Twice a year, they trim toenails and perform dental care on their herd of 18 alpacas. While sister Jane admits the process could be managed with two people, the more hands the better.

Last week, videos of a fight that occurred at Great Bend High School went viral. That means that it was seen by so many people, it was picked up by several online magazines and is now circulating worldwide through their subscribers. These magazines failed to follow up with even a little bit of reporting. They rushed to post the videos, and assigned "talking heads" to tell viewers what they are watching without regard for the facts.

Each week we'll take a step back into the history of Great Bend through the eyes of reporters past. We'll reacquaint you with what went into creating the Great Bend of today, and do our best to update you on what "the rest of the story" turned out to be.

After months of practice and improving technique, dance competition season has arrived. Members of Euphoria Dance Center's competition team attended Bravo Regional Dance Competition at Maize High School Feb. 28 through March 1. Members with less than two years competition experience or less than two hours of weekly studio time competed in the "overture" class. Many of these students fall into the under 14-years-old categories, though there are some late comers who have shown a great deal of dedication to their art and are ready for competition. The dances included solos, trios, and small group numbers.